Canada Facts for Kids

Canada is located in the northern part of North America.

The country is made up of three territories and ten provinces which extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean.

The country now known as Canada was originally inhabited by indigenous aboriginals tribes like Inuit, Métis in Canada, Cree, Iroquois, Anishinaabe, Dene, Blackfoot Confederacy, Tlingit, Algonquin people, Tsuut’ina Nation ,Assiniboine and many others before the advent of European settlers and colonisers.

John Cabot was the first explorer to reach Canada in 1497.

The country derives its name from the word “Kanata”, meaning “village” or “settlement”.

Canada has always been the home to many great scientists and inventors notable among them are Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone, James Nais Smith who invented Basketball, Joseph-Armand Bombardier who invented the snowmobile, Thomas Ahearn who invented the electric cooking range in 1882, and James Till and Ernest McCulloch who were credited with the discovery of the stem cell.

According to a 2018 estimates the population of Canada is 35.06 million.

The country practices the Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth being the monarchy.

Canada has a surface area of 9.98 million km2 making it the second largest country in the world only after Russia. It also has 6 different times zones.

Canada’s southern border with the United States is believed to be the longest bi-national border in the world.

Canada is one of the richest countries in the world, it has an advanced economy making it the fifteenth-highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the tenth-highest ranking in the Human Development Index. A nominal per capita income is the income earnings of citizens in a year.

The tallest mountain in Canada is Mount Logan standing at 19,551 ft. it is also the second-highest peak in North America, after Denali. The mountain was named after the founder of the Geological Survey of Canada, Sir William Edmond Logan. Other tall Mountains include, Mount Saint Elias, Mount Lucania, Mount Steele, Mount Wood, Mount Slaggard, Mount Fairweather, Mount Hubbard, Mount Walsh, and Mount Lucania.

Although the country is made up of 74.3% European, 14.5% Asian, 3.4% Caribbean and Latin American, 2.9% African, 0.2% Oceanian. The indigenous aborigines only make up to about 5.1% of the population. The literacy rate in Canada is over 99%.

There are more than 6000 islands in Canada Three of which are among the largest in the world and they are Baffin Island, Victoria Island and Ellesmere Island. Manitoulin Island in the country is the largest freshwater island in the world.

The capital of the country is Ottawa and it is the second coldest city in the world. Its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal which is the world’s second largest French speaking city after Paris and Vancouver.

One-tenth of the world’s forests are in Canada, approximately half of Canada is covered by forest.

English and French are the two official languages of Canada.

A beer called Molson Canada as the name implies was named after the country. It was first brewed in 1786 By Molson Coors which is the oldest brewery in North America. The Moosehead Brewery in New Brunswick produces 1,642 bottles of beer per minute.

Canada is famous for its ice wine which is made from pressed frozen grapes.

Canada has produced 13 Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry, physics, and medicine, this should not serve as a surprise as a major 2012 survey of international scientist ranked the country fourth worldwide for scientific research quality.

The world’s longest skating rink in winter and a UNESCO world heritage site called the Rideau Canal is located in Ottawa, Canada.

Canada is home to 15 world heritage sites, 42 national parks, 167 national historic sites and four marine conservation areas. The country is an ideal destination for tourist.

Canada is home to an array of wild animals, Fifty percent of the world’s polar bears live in the country, there are about 200 species of mammals in Canada and about 630 species of bird. Canada is also home to the Canada’s beaver which is the second largest rodent in the world after the Capybara found in South America.